THE owner of the Cherwell Boathouse has died aged 81.

Tony Verdin bought the North Oxford restaurant in 1968 after giving up a career making scientific instruments when his company attempted to relocate him to Glasgow.

He had studied at Oxford University and returned to the city to take on the restaurant – frequently described as an “Oxford institution” – despite having no experience in catering.

For the restaurant’s first season he cooked, cleaned and did the washing up, but quickly realised he had better take on some more staff and left this to better qualified people.

He also had to learn how to maintain the restaurant’s fleet of punts.

But he remained hands on in the running of the restaurant for more than 30 years, despite a number of different ventures.

One of these included a wine merchants called Morris and Verdin which he set up with a friend called Jasper Morris.

His interest in wine meant that the Cherwell Boathouse has one of the country’s most well-regarded wine lists with the Good Food Guide awarding the restaurant wine list of the year for 2014.

Fields, Morris and Verdin still exists as a distributor of wine to the restaurant industry, but has since been sold to the famous wine merchants Berry Brothers and Rudd.

Mr Verdin continued to be involved in the running of the Cherwell Boathouse until 2008 when he suffered a stroke which led to him losing the use of the right side of his body. His son Johnny, who had already been involved in the restaurant, has taken over its running.

Tony Verdin was born in Clapham on November 11, 1932.

He won a scholarship to Christ’s Hospital, in Horsham, West Sussex and first came to Oxford on his way back from a field trip to the Malvern Hills.

Struck by the city, he asked his teachers what he could do to attend any of its universities and – after changing a few subjects – he promptly won a scholarship to study chemistry at Merton College in 1954. After leaving university he got a job with PerkinElmer making scientific intruments where he remained until he was 35.

By this time he was married to Greta Kennett – whom he had met at university – but his company wanted him to relocate to Glasgow.

After visiting the city and deciding that it wasn’t for them, Mr Verdin saw the advert for the Cherwell Boathouse in The Sunday Times and decided the time was ripe for a career change.

After a brief break running the restaurant Mr Verdin returned to his scientific career, authoring Gas Analysis Instrumentation in 1973 and setting up a company called Analysis Automation in 1971 which was based in Summertown and made scientific measuring instruments.

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He also became involved in running the Chelsea Arts Club with his friend Dudley Winterbottom who became manager of the Cherwell Boathouse in 1973.

Mr Verdin was also a keen rugby enthusiast and played for Henley RFC for many years.

He separated from his first wife in the early 1980s before marying second wife, Araminta Morris, in 1986.

He was diagnosed with terminal bowel cancer last September.

Tony Verdin died on Thursday, September 25 and is survived by three children from his first marriage, Julia, Anne Marie and Johnny, and three from his second marriage, Aurelia, Arthur and Aggie, as well as his second wife Araminta Morris and five grandchildren. He was pre-deceased by his first wife Greta.

His funeral will take place in the chapel of Merton College at 3pm tomorrow.


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